Saturday, January 14, 2006

Tonight (Saturday 1/14 @ 10 pm), AMC will premiere a new series called 'Hustle'. It's new to the American shores; it was shown by the BBC back in 2004.

It's about a gang of con artistes who only choose as their marks those who have more than they should have, who have more than their fair share, or who are dangerously greedy. They never go after those people who can't afford it or who are basically good in nature. They are the enforcers for Karma.

Maybe they can cross over with 'My Name Is Earl'.

But in an interview in the NY Daily News with Marisa Guthrie, Robert Vaughn had a different crossover in mind.....

"I thought, well what if Napoleon Solo finished his work, got his retirement pension and then realized he couldn't live on it. How could he live in the wonderful world of girls and cars and jewelry? He couldn't.

"So rather than go way outside the law, what does he do? He becomes a con man."

In Vaughn's mind, there's a possibility that his character of Albert Stroller, the "roper" who finds the mark for the team to take on, is in reality Napoleon Solo from 'The Man From U.N.C.L.E.'.

It's an intriguing idea, but it all depends on how the characters' lives are fleshed out as the series progresses. This could be a show rich in background detail on each character, peeled away in layers over time, as we have been seeing the last two seasons with 'Lost'. Or they could be parsimonious with the information... information... information.... as happened with Number Six on 'The Prisoner'

Either way works well for Toobworld purposes. With a wealth of trivia, there could be no end to the number of links with other TV shows that could be forged. At the same time, a dearth of detail leaves pretty much a blank canvas upon which conjecture could be made.

Let's go back to Number Six - we know his birthdate, we met his fiancee, we know he takes no sugar in his tea. That's about it.

So what stops us from thinking Number Six was John Drake of 'Danger Man' (and Number 12 was Nelson Brenner from a 'Columbo' episode)?

Okay, besides McGoohan on occasion.......

Other actors have played this connection game in the past. Scott Bakula thought it would be cool if his character of Jonathan Archer on 'Enterprise' had the middle name of "Beckett", which would have made him a possible relative to Dr. Sam Beckett who was working on his own possible method of time travel in the late 20th Century.

However, as for Albert Stroller being Napoleon Solo, right now I'm leaning toward the idea that they are not the same cool dude. I think there's way too much info out there about Solo that prevents us from making that connection.

Albert Stroller could still be the alias for one of Vaughn's other characters. Personally, I think it more likely that he could be Harry Rule from 'The Protectors'.

Despite my preferences, a higher chance of compatibility would be with any of his one-off characters from TV movies and guest appearances on various shows - even as Jim Darling, Laura Petrie's old flame from an episode of 'The Dick Van Dyke Show'. Whad did we really know about him and what he had been doing since he knew Laura?

But he definitely could NOT be an alias for the character Vaughn played in an episode of 'Diagnosis Murder' ("Discards"), Alexander Drake. True, he was a spy and thus fitting the argument Vaughn made for Solo. And the name of "Alexander Drake" already sounds like an alias; like he had cobbled together the identity by stealing the first name from Alexander Mundy ("It Takes A Thief") and the last name from John Drake ("Danger Man").

However, as shown in that episode of 'Diagnosis Murder', there wasn't a lot of potential for a future with that character.......

The links made via the new show 'Crumbs' are based on the same principle as those for 'Jake In Progress' and 'Will & Grace' this week: the televersions of famous people had their fictional lives expanded.

While she was a "guest" at the Cedar Hills Sanitarium in Connecticut, Suzanne Crumb won a lot of money playing poker against "that guy in Aerosmith".

I'm not so familiar with the group roster, but so long as no further information was forthcoming as to which member would be most likely in that facility with her, then I'm going to say it was Steven Tyler. And of course, that's because he can provide more links due to his membership in the League of Themselves.

He also caused a commotion by just walking through a restaurant in the Sony Cybershot camera blipvert over a year ago.

With 'Stacked' and 'Two And A Half Men', he was in that transitional phase between a full guest appearance and just being talked about. That is, he was heard in the scenes but not seen.

Well, you did see his hand reach down into the bookstore's elevator where Katrina, his biggest fan, was trapped.

On 'Lizzie McGuire' he played Santa Claus for the local community and wouldn't waver from asserting his identity as Kris Kringle. But that could have been for two splainins - he didn't want a mob circus scene to go crazy if he revealed himself as "that guy from Aerosmith", and because he was "doin' it for the kids".

Over in the Tooniverse, Steven Tyler showed up in Springfield to play a set in celebration of the latest fad, a "Flaming Moe" drink. ('The Simpsons')

So by the very loose and sloppy Toobworld standards, 'Crumbs' enters the TV Universe right out of the gate.

Friday, January 13, 2006

Well, in Toobworld he was at Karen's party last night on 'Will & Grace'.

For their second live episode this season, 'Will & Grace' spent the whole episode in Karen's palatial bathroom during her birthday party. Matt Lauer was the only televersion who needed to use the facilities while they were all in there, (Actual character Beverly poked in as well.) but there was a stellar array of celebs just beyond the door.... at least so we were told.

I don't know if Happy Rockefeller was ever mentioned in passing on a fictional TV series before. I would think some snarky sitcom would have at least mentioned the infamous circumstances surrounding her husband's death back in the late 1970s.

But if not, she should hope to get some other credits under her belt or it'll be the image of "Happy Farts" that will forever haunt her in Toobworld.

Despite their appearances on news programs, talk shows, and variety specials, Liza Minnelli, John McCain, Diane Sawyer, and Philip Seymour Hoffman have no actual televersions to speak of in Toobworld. (I'm not sure about comments made about their fictional lives in other shows; I would think Liza would be a natural in that department.)

This was especially surpising for Diane Sawyer, in that I would have thought she might have appeared on 'Murphy Brown' at some point as herself.

Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins both appeared on 'The Footy Show' and even though most of the people on that oddball series appeared as themselves, there was still Trevor Marmalade who relegates the whole exercise to "The Land of Fiction".

(Tim Robbins also has a 'Primetime Glick' to his credit, which has a similar application.)

As for Matt Lauer, his only other Toobworld apperance as himself is off in the Tooniverse, where he appeared in an episode of 'Father Of The Pride'.

So that leaves Gore Vidal and Yoko Ono, two names not normally associated with the idea of a TV Universe.

But Mr. Vidal has made appearances in two different dimensions of Toobworld. On Earth Prime-Time, he visited 'Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman' in her Fernwood home back in the mid-1970s. And in an alternate dimension that will split off from the main TV Land with the next Presidential election, Vidal hosted a TV documentary that looked back on the life of President Bobby McAllister. (In that dimension, he remained remarkably fit well into the 2020s, for a man born in 1925!)

As for Yoko Ono, she hosted Paul Buchman's visit to her home in the Dakota on 'Mad About You'.

The whole episode of 'Will & Grace' might have made for an excellent Crossover of the Week... with itself! That's because, aside from the crossovers due to the League of Themselves, the episode was performed live again a few hours later for the West Coast. So that episode, as with all live episodes of such dramatic shows that are repeated a second time that night, would be relegated to Earth Prime Time Delayed.

It would have made for a great Crossover of the Week.... except for a big Zonk!, that is. When Grace saw Jack in his flowery, garish dressing gown, she called him "Mrs. Roper". That would have been easy enough to splain away, but then Jack had to compound it by hitting us over the head with the fact that it was a reference to 'Three's Company'.

'Doctor Who' is at last arriving on our airwaves in March, courtesy of a deal worked out between the Sci-Fi Channel and the BBC/

According to the BBC Online, the Sci Fi Channel has been granted the first-run rights for the series of Doctor Who written and executive produced by Russell T Davies. The channel also has an option on the second series, in which David Tennant takes over the time travelling adventurer's title role from Eccleston.

Sci FI Channel's Thomas P Vitale said, "With its rich history of imaginative storytelling, 'Doctor Who' is a true sci-fi classic. We're excited to add the show to our line up."

Candace Carlisle, from BBC Worldwide Americas, said: "The new production has fantastic storylines and production values and has already gained an iconic status around the world. Sci Fi Channel is the perfect home for the show and will introduce Doctor Who to a whole new generation of fans in the US."

I can't wait to hear the reaction of the American critics to Captain Jack Harkness, Inner Toob's choice for the Best Leading Male Character of 2005. And will the show fly under the radar of the American Family Association and other narrow-minded prudes? Should be interesting......

And speaking of ducks, Late may be better than Never, but there was no excuse for this show to have taken so long to reach our shores. I lay the blame on the suits at any network that might have had the opportunity to pick up the project earlier, and that includes the Sci-Fi Channel. (I'm told they balked at the accents!)

And the BBC shares some of the blame as well. From what I've heard, their initial asking price was too high.

I just felt the need to vent, which is wrong, because the Toobworld concept should be free of concern for what happens behind the scenes.

Nevertheless, (speaking of ducks), this is a classic example of a Toobworld mantra....

There are several League of Themselves variations for crossovers this week, folks. And since the Crossover of the Week is locked down (to be revealed on Monday), I may as well start posting these now.

First up:

'JAKE IN PROGRESS'&'CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM'

Naomi destroyed Rosie O'Donnell's career!

As Naomi described it, Rosie used to be famous and now she's not.

And that should be a lesson to anyone who dares to cross Naomi.

Rosie's last appearance as a fictional character, as a televersion of herself, was in this past season of 'Curb Your Enthusiasm'. But the mention of her by Naomi doesn't imply that it follows that appearance in a linear timeline. There's no way of knowing when Naomi exacted her revenge, but it would have to be after Rosie's talk show ended.

Rosie O'Donnell has made appearances as her televersion in the following shows:

Thursday, January 12, 2006

FBI Agent Seeley Booth understood why Angela Montenegro couldn't remain detached from her work as a forensic artist, because "she wasn't raised on Vulcan" like the others on Dr. Temperance Brennan's team at the Jeffersonian Institute.

"Bones" Brennan's response? "I don't know what that means."

I do - a big, Zonk!ing headache.

TV shows that make reference to 'Star Trek' is probably the most common of all Zonk!s for Toobworld. 'Star Trek' is supposed to be part of Toobworld's future, and yet all of these characters who have been around since the late 1960s know about their future due to a TV show which dramatized it.

'Frasier' attended a sci-fi convention and met somebody dressed as a Klingon.

During his 'Wonder Years', Kevin Arnold once fantasized himself and his friends as characters on the show.

After getting food poisoning at a convention, a lot of Trekkies had to be treated by the 'Nurses' of a Miami hospital.

At least the future of 'Futurama' is beyond 'Star Trek' by about six centuries, and even though it's just a TV show for them, I could shrug it off as being relegated to the Tooniverse. But that doesn't take into account 'Star Trek: The Animated Series'......

Like I said, one big headache.

And when it comes to mentioning the planet Vulcan, it's not just 'Star Trek' that's being Zonk!ed, but also 'Doctor Who'. In "The Power Of The Daleks", the first story to feature Patrick Troughton as the Doctor in his second incarnation (and which sadly has been lost by the idiocies of the BBC), there was a colony of humans on Vulcan by 2220. They were attacked by three rogue Daleks which had buried themselves into the soil of Vulcan two hundred years before.

The Doctor, with help from his companions Polly and Ben, was able to destroy the machine-encased monstrosities, but most of the humans were killed by that point. However, it is unknown if any of the host Vulcans were killed before the arrival of the TARDIS. As there was no mention of them being on the planet at all during the story, it seems to me that the Vulcans had allowed these humans to establish their colony in one of the uninhabited regions of their planet and suffered their presence as the Earthlings began mining the planet for what rightfully belonged to the Vulcans.

It's possible the Vulcans weren't too sorry about what the Daleks did. Wait, what am I thinking? That would have been an emotional reaction.

Officially, the first contact between the Vulcans and the people of Earth won't be taking place until 2063, after Zephraim Cochrane made the first warp flight out of Earth's atmosphere. (This was all played out in the movie "Star Trek: First Contact".)

But the Vulcans had visited Earth in the past, most notably in 1957 as seen in an episode of "Enterprise". Three Vulcans were stranded for a time in a small mining town in Pennsylvania. (There they met the future scientist Jackson Roykirk as a young teenager.)

One of them was left behind to live hidden among the humans, but the only impact they might have made by this contact was the introduction of Velcro to Earth culture.

Right now, it's my way of thinking that at least Agent Booth knows about Vulcan because of this incident. That eventually that stranded Vulcan somehow came to the notice of the governmental authorities in America, and it was all hushed up in one of 'The X-Files' compiled by Agent Arthur Dales.

Booth may be all queasy around the forensics done at the Institute, and yet he probably never did a spit take when he got the chance to look at some of those files maintained by Special Agent Fox Mulder.

However, that still doesn't splain why everybody - except Dr. Brennan, - seems to know about 'Star Trek' as a TV series.

I can't pass off the idea once suggested to me that the stranded Vulcan made it to Hollywood where he gave Gene Roddenberry the idea for the show, as he was a contemporary of 1957 Earth, not flung backwards from the future of 'Star Trek'. So there was no way for him to know about Captain Kirk and Company.

No, that scenario only works if someone from the future beyond the known reaches of 'Star Trek' and its many franchises came back in Time to pull off such a stunt? And why do it at all? Perhaps to better prepare the world for the role it would one day play in the universe.

Wednesday, January 11, 2006

The WB has finally announced who will be their next small screen hero in the upcoming series 'Aquaman'. Twenty-eight-year-old newcomer Will Toale will star in the title role in the new series from 'Smallville' creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar.

The Florida-born Toale worked as a model before landing a supporting role in "A Streetcar Named Desire" at Broadway's Roundabout Theater alongside Natasha Richardson and John C. Reilly.

Broadway, Tennessee Williams, Richardson and Reilly.... no small potatoes!

The pilot is expected to be shot in Miami, and the series will start as part of the WB’s fall offering lineup. (There are reports that 'Aquaman' will not be the title for the series.)

"In the comic, Aquaman's the lost king of Atlantis," said Gough. "But in our version, he is Arthur Curry, this twenty-something who owns a dive shop."

I'll have to take a wait-and-see attitude on this new 'Aquaman'; wait for more information. If the show remains independent of 'Smallville', then everything is fine, because the 'Smallville' universe (which also houses 'The West Wing' and 'Mr. Sterling') already has its own 'Aquaman'. The trouble and splainins begin if a crossover ever happens.

And how could they resist? Same network, same producers, and 'Smallville' is enjoying some of its best ratings ever. Kal-El may not have his cape yet, but he's got some great coattails to ride.

So if they do cross over the new 'Aquaman' to 'Smallville', a splainin will have to be found as to why he no longer looks like Alan Ritchson in that stand-alone episode, 'Aqua'.

If he never crosses over, we can leave him beached in some alt. TV dimension. But which one?

The Tooniverse has its own Aquaman; a traditional rendering of the superhero based on the comic books. And in the main Toobworld, Aquaman is just a comic book character, and a joke at that considering the scorn heaped on the concept by Vince Chase's 'Entourage'.

But their contempt comes from ignorance about a race of mermen that actually do exist in Toobworld. Most notably there is Mark Harris, 'The Man From Atlantis', but various merfolk have been seen in episodes of 'Doctor Who' ("The Underwater Menace") and a tele-flick for 'Sabrina The Teenage Witch' ("Sabrina Down Under").

According to the comic books, Arthur Curry is the son of a human father and an Atlantean mother. (In a similar vein, 'Fantastic Journey' featured Liana, who was born of a human mother and an Atlantean father.)

The fact that Aquaman is a comic book character in Toobworld doesn't negate the possibility that he actually exists there. Superman is regarded mostly as a comic book character in today's Toobworld, but he actually did exist, serving Metropolis and saving the world until his death in the early 1960s. (Whole other story!)

But even while he was alive, Superman was a comic book character, as seen in "The Birthday Letter" episode of 'The Adventures of Superman'. I would guess that Supes okayed its publication, so long as all profits went to some charity to help the kids.

And after his death, somebody - perhaps Superman's pal Jimmy Olsen? - was able to reveal the full story of the Man of Steel. And that's how Jerry 'Seinfeld' knew that Superman's birth-father was Jor-El.

So if the King of Atlantis is out there as Arthur Curry in Earth Prime-Time he has not revealed himself.

He wouldn't have been hard to miss, though, with that garish orange body-shirt!

CBS is developing its first original entertainment content for cell phones, a soap opera that will run five to seven original episodes a week, at three to five minutes a pop.

The network's daytime department is handling the project, which will be created by writer-producer James Dutcher and Leah Hecker.

Story arcs could last as long as three months. Casting has not yet commenced, and it's not yet clear what services might carry the show.

More than likely this will have no impact on Toobworld, unless CBS decides to launch the production with appearances by some of its established characters from its four TV-based soaps. ('As The World Turns', 'Guiding Light', 'The Young & The Restless' and 'The Bold & The Beautiful')

But one major reason I mentioned it is because it's already adding to the lexicon - it's being dubbed "mobisoap" for "mobile soap".

In his review for both 'Emily's Reasons Why Not' and 'Jake In Progress' in the NY Daily News, David Bianculli concluded with this:

"If Jake and Emily paired up on a date soon, there's a chance one of their shows could survive - by hiring both leads. Otherwise, there may be more than enough reasons why both shows, in their current incarnations, won't survive the year."

But Jake lives in Manhattan, and Emily's in Santa Monica; from one end of the country to another. And in the Trueniverse, that might be a real detriment to even meeting, let alone dating.

They live in Toobworld, however, and such logistical obstacles can always be overcome. If George Burns could turn up in a small diner in Arizona ('Alice'), and Sammy Davis, Jr., hang out at Archie Bunker's home ('All In The Family'), and Larry David could wind up in Heaven ('Curb Your Enthusiasm'), then getting these two kids together is child's play.

Emily Sanders is an editor for a publishing company, and Jake Phillips is a publicist. Sooner or later, one of Jake's clients will want to write a tell-all confessional memoir, and Jake may want to shop it to Emily's company or she might actively campaign to land it for herself.

Or she might represent a book by someone whom Jake would NOT want to see published, and from that initial conflict, sparks could fly.

At least until Jake fulfills the five reasons "why not".....

So if the producers of both shows wanted to do a crossover - and they may have to, given the reviews and ratings! - that could be the way to go.

Tuesday, January 10, 2006

The week's hardly begun and I'm ready to call a winner for the best quote of the week:Lily: I swear to God if I so much as catch you even breathing the same air as her, I will take those peanuts you're trying to pass off as testicles and squeeze them so hard, your eyes pop out and then I will feed them to you like grapes!Barney: Which? My eyes or my testicles?Lily: One of each!from 'How I Met Your Mother'Also I think I could call the best sight gag of the week as well: Naomi bopping her baby's head on the door frame as she brought it home from the hospital for the first time on 'Jake In Progress'.I may be alone on that opinion; I have a friend who's an ADA and it pissed him off. I guess that doesn't play "funny" in the 'Law & Order' segment of Toobworld.....BCnU!Tele-Toby

Cress Williams recently played a police detective named Nathan Woods from Chicago on several episodes of 'Veronica Mars'.

Back in 2000, he was also playing Officer Reggie Moore on 'ER', which takes place in Chicago.

They could be identical cousins, which of course has an established .precedent in Toobworld.

They could also be half-brothers, with either the same father or the same mother, and that would account for the change in surnames. But that seems like such a cliched, and maybe even non-PC, supposition.

And I'd much rather use the splainin that sets Toobworld truly apart from the Real World.

I was hoping for some of that Divine intervention while watching my tape from Friday of 'The Book of Daniel'. I was hoping to find something to link it to another show.

But the closest I got was mention of Bishop Congreve's resume - that she holds a chair in Divinity at Yale. Yale, in New Haven, Ct., is one of the most popular schools for Toobworld characters ever; most significantly on 'The Gilmore Girls' the last few years. There have been more than a dozen shows in which a major character had connections to Yale:

What's great about Yale is that it's Ivy League, but not really so pretentious with that haughty stuck-up blue-blood attitude you get from Harvard characters (like Thurston Howell III).

But it's also a real school, and thus just that much fun as a link for Toobworld. It's like saying 'Taxi' and 'CSI:NY' are connected because they're both set in NYC. ('Taxi' is connected to 'Law & Order', though, since the Sunshine Cab Co. appeared in an 'L&O' episode.)

For most of 'The Book of Daniel', I felt there there far too many moments that had the air of being too scripted. Like when Grace found her gay brother Peter (And we were never allowed to forget he was gay!) trying to chat up a prospective boyfriend in church. She teased him with "Don't forget to show him your -#" just as their Grandfather (the Bishop!) shouted "Peter!"

Too scripted and over-acted was my complaint regarding the third sibling, the adopted son of Chinese descent. I just didn't find him as a character to be believable; I couldn't see past the actor acting. (I had no trouble believing his circumstances to be possible.)

I've heard that there are Episcopalian ministers who are embracing the show (It's about their faith.) and urging their congregations to watch it. The ones who should be upset are the Catholics, as the show suggested there's quite a close connection to the Church and the Mafia.

Here's a Toobworld puzzle: Why is it that when you see a Catholic priest on TV, he's always addressed by his first name? Father Tim ('Soap'), Father Brian ('The Mary Tyler Moore Show') and now Father Frank in this (played by Dan Hedaya).

I did enjoy the gimmick of ending each segment of the show by freezing the frame into a stained-glass window. It was reminiscent of how each quarter of 'The Wild, Wild West' ended. Only with the window, we'd get to see all of the panels in advance, so after a while I was amusing myself by trying to guess the situation and/or the characters involved in the glass depiction. (The easiest was Reverend Webster chasing the woman through a cemetary. I guessed Bishop Congreve when they showed a woman in a car; it turned out to be "Mrs. Darth Vader", a church leader.)

Reverend Don Wildmon can blow it out his ass. As a Catholic, I didn't find anything wrong with the portrayal of Jesus in the two-hour pilot. In fact, Jesus - and His camaraderie with Reverend Webster - was the only really interesting and believable part of the show. I could have done with less of the family histrionics and just spent more time hanging out with these two guys as they bantered.

I hope they take in a movie together. It would be really interesting to get His take on 'Brokeback Mountain'.....

It was obvious that His appearance to Daniel was a manifestation of Reverend Webster's inner turmoil and how his conversations with God played out. I'll bet a lot of people don't even "speak" to Jesus, and so the visualization of Webster's conversations must have seemed blasphemous - when in reality, they were just being envious.

And I think a lot of these holier than thou fruitcakes who claim to speak for God and want you to fear the Lord are really only interested in getting you to fear them instead.

By the end of the two hours, once I learned that it would be showing on Fridays at 10 pm, I was tempted to put it aside as 'Monk' will be returning this coming Friday. Sure, that's repeated several times during the week, and yeah, even the next morning usually; but I'd much rather watch a tape of 'Monk' while eating my Clusters cereal after my overnight shift than 'The Book of Daniel'.

Then again.... It is such a limited run, and 'Monk' does repeat...... I probably will stick it out with 'The Book of Daniel' for the next six weeks.

Just so I can stick it to the American Family Association in my own small way.....

John McCook brought his character Eric Forrester over from 'The Bold and the Beautiful' to wish Lauren good wishes. “He's truly happy for her,” noted John. “He met Michael a few months ago and we had serious conversation about Sheila, filling him in on her. And [Michael] bought a dress from me for Lauren as they were courting. There's no residual stuff between Lauren and Eric but a lovely friendship and kind of a wink as she went down the aisle. I wish her well but it's not heavy hearted. He's very happy to wish her well.” And from a fan site, this play-by-play recap:

The guests mingle and mill about. Put out at not being introduced to Eric Forrester, Vikki tells him she's running the company. He wishes his sons Thorne and Ridge could get along as amicably. "May the best Newman win". Vikki then quietly tells her Mom. Just keep in mind the word IS Newman, Nikki replies pointedly.

Lauren and Mike dance to a trumpet solo. JT looks put out as Mac and Kevin join in (as do John and Gloria, Scott and Joanna. Nikki and Victor - Eric and Jill - Ash and Paul. Phyllis and Jack. Chris and Nick)

Eric has to go due to an early morning meeting in LA. Lauren gives him a hug - great to see you so beautiful and happy, he says - talk to you after the honeymoon. Mike comes to tell Lauren it's time to go.

Also from that December 9th broadcast: the musical performer for the wedding reception was jazz trumpeter Chris Botti, who's worked with Paul Simon and Sting, and who scored the movie "Caught".BCnU!Tele-Toby

At least in this dimension, I only have the two eyes, and limited resources to view as much as I would like. So if it weren't for sites like TVTattle, TVSquad, TVgasm, and Zap2It.TV, a lot more might slip my notice.

But stuff does escape my detection, like the Crossover of the Week featuring 'Medium'. And now I find out I missed another crossover from near the end of 2005.

Eric Forrester, patriarch of the Forrester fashion dynasty in Los Angeles, flew to Genoa City, Wisconsin, to attend the wedding of old friend Lauren Fenmore to Michael Baldwin.

He not only traveled cross-country, but he also crossed over from 'The Bold & The Beautiful' to 'The Young & The Restless'.

If my Mom had been up to snuff, she might have been able to tell me about this, as 'Y&R' is her favorite "story". But with age, combined with her physical therapy schedules, she probably doesn't see as much of the show as she once did... and even then doesn't retain half of that in her memory.....

At any rate, it wasn't Earth Prime Time-shaking news, as 'B&B' and 'Y&R' have crossed over often. Lauren and her late husband Dr. Scott Grainger took up residence in both shows, as did their psycho bitch nemesis, Sheila Carter.

Monday, January 9, 2006

I've written in the past about the Divine intervention that I believe I receive when it comes to flipping channels; that I always hpapen to land on something I could use for Toobworld at just the right moment.

The way I figger it, a lot of planning Upstairs went into the latest example, and it came at the right time because I had bupkis for this week's Crossover.

I took Saturday night off from work so that I could go to Connecticut. I had been invited to the surprise birthday and retirement party for my friend Maurice Steinberg in Torrington. The change in my natural sleep habits (I work overnight) and all the travel did me in; so I was back at my sister's house by 9 pm.

As she isn't living there year round, my sister pays for minimal cable service and I was severely limited in what to watch. So I chose 'Medium' over the Britcoms on PBS.

'Medium' was a repeat of the season premiere, but it was new to me as I've only seen three other episodes. And had it not been for all of that set-up, getting my cosmic ducks and drakes in a row, I never would have known about the crossover!

Mrs. DuBois kept having this interrupted dream about a sperm bank in 1983. And in one of the rooms where a donor made his deposit, there was a pile of magazines for "inspiration". And at the top of that pile?Playpen Magazine.

Playpen is a member of the TV Crossover Hall Of Fame, inducted with other publications like the National Inquisitor, the NY Ledger, the LA Sun and the LA Tribune. But Playpen has the most appearances in other TV shows.

'Ally McBeal' - Like on 'Medium', it was a source of inspiration. Ally smuggled a copy into prison so that a client could smuggle out a deposit to impregnate his wife.

'Renegade' - Reno had to protect the grande dame who owned the company.

'That Girl' - Ann Marie found her head superimposed on a nude centerfold's body.

'The X-Files' - Fox Mulder had a big collection of the magazine.

'Millennium' - A murder victim had an even bigger collection; he had a copy of every issue published up to the point of his death.

'CSI' - An issue was found during the execution of a search warrant following the death of a baby.

'Homicide: Life On The Street' - Meldrick claimed that he only read it for the articles. Uh-huh....

And it even surfaced in the Tooniverse, on an episode of 'Family Guy'.

Now, if only another show would have a character eating Nutty Nuggets for breakfast, like the D.A. of 'Medium', then the addition of this show to the official TV Universe might be more secure.

But I've also got an historical missing link based on location, location, location.

This episode featured Captain Push...... I'm thinking one of his ancestors founded the town of 'Push, Nevada'.......

I received this email from Taiwan, where the "Kids Having Kids" (Sean & Gosia) are spending two years teaching. (They're the parents of my god-daughter, Rhiannon.)

Here's what Sean had to say about his oldest tyke, Eli.....

So, this morning, Eli explained to me about how, yesterday, he was watching the Lilo and Stitch tv show and it "connected" (in his words) with another show! Some characters from another disney show had come to Hawaii on vacation. I explained to Eli that this was known as a crossover. I thought you would be proud of him. he was intrigued by the concept. :)

Eli was referring to a Crossover of the Week - WHICH I JUST REALIZED I DIDN'T LIST IN THE 2005 RUNDOWN! - from last August. It was on 'Lilo & Stitch' as the boy says, and it featured characters crossing over from 'Kim Possible'.

I have big, I say, big plans for that boy!

HRMmmmmmm..... Suddenly I want to wack a guard dog on the butt with a two-by-four.....

Sunday, January 8, 2006

They were wrapping up the interview with Tamara Tunie on NBC's 'Sunday Today' this morning, and she was asked if she felt as though she had finally made it. After all, she's starring on both 'As The World Turns' and 'Law & Order: SVU', and she was on Broadway last year with Denzel Washington in "Julius Caesar".And she was happy with her lot in life, but she would never stop reaching for more, saying:"I'm still shooting up."Welllll, doggies! I wonder what people thought when they flipped over to NBC at the exact moment to hear just that!BCnU!Tele-Toby

Just An Old Cowhand On The TiVo Grande

As the Trickster once said, "Reality is boring, that's why I change it whenever I can."
I'm just "The Man Who Viewed Too Much", and "Inner Toob" is a blog exploring and celebrating the 'reality' of an alternate universe in which everything that ever happened on TV actually takes place.
Most of my theories about the TV Universe come from thinking inside the box and thus can't be proven. But I've never been one to shy away from a tall tale.....
Remember: "The more you watch, the more you've seen!"